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Former Moab officer pleads guilty to theft charge

A former Moab police officer faces a maximum one year in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor theft of cash from his own department, according to the Seventh Judicial District Court’s clerk in Moab.

Edward Guerrero, 43, pleaded guilty to theft as a class A misdemeanor, while prosecutors on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a charge of felony third-degree burglary as part of a plea agreement. Guerrero will be sentenced on June 22 in Moab by Seventh Judicial District Judge Lyle Anderson.

The Salt Lake City Tribune quoted Guerrero’s attorney in reporting that the $900 in stolen cash, which was removed from two envelopes, had been intended as drug-buy money. The officer had been “traveling to a training, and felt he should be reimbursed for that, wrongfully, obviously,” attorney Greg Skordas told the Tribune.

The theft occurred last August and was discovered in October.

A seven-year veteran of the department, Guerrero resigned in January after charges were filed.